perspective from the neck

Tag Archives: Commandments

As Catholics, we wholly love our triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Every day we attend mass we literally sit at the feet of our Lord Jesus, mystically united in time to the moment He gave His life for us on the cross. Before the altar of the most Blessed Sacrament we are privileged to worship Him, thank Him, love Him, and depend on Him. We are beside everyone that has ever attended the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, beside all of the angels, beside all of the saints, and beside everyone who was at the foot of His cross at Golgotha… we are beside His Mother, Mary.

Jesus’s life was bookended with Mother Mary, she was present at His birth, and at His death. Before God sent us our Savior, He first created the vessel by which that Savior would come. Instead of celebrating Christmas each year, we could be celebrating the Descension of Jesus, or some other event by which God sent our Savior. God’s plans are always perfect and always have more meaning than we can ever humanly fathom. In all of His infinite wisdom and in His love for us, God included a mere human in His plan for our salvation. Our Father gave Himself a human mother.

In the book of John it is recorded that during the Last Supper Jesus reminded his disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” In fact, He mentioned keeping the commandments many times. The first three commandments all deal with how we are to have a relationship with our Lord. Then, surprisingly, the fourth commandment, listed before don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t bear false witness… is to honor your father and mother. This particular commandment is oddly out of place between the first three dictating proper worship of our Lord God and the latter six thou shall nots. It must be important.

Jesus entrusts his mother to his disciple John.

We are commanded to honor our father and mother. We are also called to follow Jesus as our example of Christian living. Jesus lived a life perfectly without sin, He upheld every one of the ten commandments, daily. He perfectly honored both His Father, our Lord God, and His Mother, Mary. Isn’t it interesting that God created a commandment to honor our father and mother, then when He came down to Earth He provided Himself a mother which allowed Him to perfectly fulfill the fourth commandment? In His plan for our salvation, God submitted Himself to honoring a human. Jesus showed us how to perfectly follow the first commandment and all the while have the most perfect honor for His mother with the fourth commandment. At the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus performed His first miracle at the behest of Mother Mary (John 2), and while hanging on the cross He made sure not to expire before arranging proper care for her (John 19). He did not shy away from loving His mother out of fear of offending His Father. He did not ignore His mother or feel indifferent toward her. Jesus was still submitting Himself to honoring His mother while dying to provide us eternal life, that is how important she is to Him. He wholly and perfectly loves His mother out of His love for His Father.

So, how is your relationship with Mary? Do you forget she’s even there? Imagine a family in which, day after day, the children lovingly flock to the father while it is as if their adoring mother is not even in the room. Imagine the pain God must feel when day after day we ignore or even actively reject the Mother He gave Himself, the Mother that He loves with a child-like love, the Mother that He commands us to love. Your relationship with Mother Mary should be a proportionate indicator of your love for Our Father.

Don’t know how to begin a relationship with Our Lady? Pray for God to assist you in beginning a relationship with His Mother. Remember to talk with Mary at mass, as she is there beside you, at the foot of Her Son’s holy cross. Ask for her prayers. Ask her to pray for you to have a devotion to the Father like the devotion she is privileged to have. Ask both Our Lady and Our Father for forgiveness for not including her in your life the way we are commanded to.

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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